1. Chapter Eleven: Religion and Ethics
Religion has profoundly affected human conscious life and moral behavior for over two thousand years.
For Western Civilization, Morality has been identified with adherence to religion.

2. Religion and Ethics
To act immorally has been seen as essentially disobeying God.
Religion has dominated the moral landscape to appear to be indistinguishable from morality.
Most people identify morality with religion.

3. Exceptions: Confucianism: Essentially a secular system of ethics
Non-theist Buddhism: Also, a secular system of ethics.

4. The Divine Command Theory
Ethical principles are simply the commands of God.
They derive their validity from God commanding them.
Without God there would be no universally valid morality.

5. Problems with the Divine Command Theory
Seems to make the attribution of “goodness” to God redundant
Seems to make morality into something arbitrary

6. Independence Thesis Opposed to the Divine Command Theory
Denies the thesis of the Divine Command Theory
Claims that morality does not originate with God
Rightness and Wrongness are not dependent on God’s Will
There are independent ways to act

7. Kant: God Makes Morality Possible
Kant claimed that both humans and God must obey the same rational principles
Being moral is our duty to God
We ought to be moral, which means we can be moral and therefore, we are able to reach moral perfection, but being imperfect beings, it will not occur in this lifetime.

8. Is Religion Irrelevant or Even Contrary to Morality?
Russell: Religion Irrelevant to Morality
Hume: The Immorality of God and Religion
Nowell-Smith and Rachels: Religion Conflicts with Moral Autonomy

9. Does Religion Enhance The Moral Life?
If there is a God, good will win out over evil.
If God exists, then cosmic justice reigns in the universe.
If Theism is true, moral reasons always override nonmoral reasons.
If Theism is true, then there is a God who loves and cares for us

10. Does Religion Enhance The Moral Life?
If there is a God who created us in his image, all persons are of equal worth.
If God exists, we have a compelling solution to the posterity problem.

11. The Case against Religion
A lot of evil has been done by religious people in the name of religion
We don't know for sure whether a benevolent God exists
Religious morality closes off dialogue
Religious morality leads to group intolerance
Religious morality threatens church-state separation